Hospital records show that the truck pulled into the pay lot Dec. 20 -- one day after rapist John S. Giannotti, 34, and murder conspirator Joseph R. Shillinsky, 57, stole it from the Carl Robinson Correctional Institution in Enfield.

O'Mara said the escapees probably picked up I-91 south in Enfield, then drove west on I-84 to Scranton. Scranton is in northeastern Pennsylvania, about 140 miles west of New York City.

State police suspect that the escapees then hitchhiked west, O'Mara said. Scranton is the site of several major truck stops, he said.

"We don't think they stopped there and hitched a ride back to Connecticut," he said. "That wouldn't make too much sense."

Giannotti and Shillinsky cut through a window grille in a dormitory located outside the fence at the lowsecurity Robinson prison. They then stole the vehicle from a prison garage.

Giannotti, of West Haven, was serving a 21-year sentence for first-degree sexual assault and second-degree assault. He was sentenced in 1984.

Shillinsky, of Bristol, was serving a 25-year sentence for criminal attempt to commit murder after paying his son to kill a business partner. He was sentenced in 1986.

State police detectives will travel to Scranton today to inspect the truck and look for evidence, O'Mara said. Police also will circulate photographs of the escapees at local truck stops, O'Mara said.

Giannotti is described as a white male, with brown eyes, short brown hair and a mustache. He stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 204 pounds.

Shillinsky is a white male, with blue eyes and gray hair. He stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 165 pounds.

The escape drew the ire of prison neighbors, who wondered why two men with long sentences and violent histories were housed in a dormitory outside the prison fence.

State Correction Department officials defended the move, saying both prisoners met strict criteria covering time served and institutional behavior